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The incline dumbbell curl is a variation of the standard dumbbell curl. The difference between incline curls and the traditional biceps curls is the position of your body.
Rather than stand up straight, where most people are accustomed to doing biceps movements.
You will instead be lying on an adjustable bench with one arm resting on top of it. At the same time holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length in front of your torso.
Other than that, everything else remains exactly the same as far as technique goes.
This is another great “burn” exercise for bicep development. It can help bring out details in peaks and veins that you want to show on the surface.
Incline Dumbbell Curl Muscles Worked?
The primary muscles worked include the biceps and forearms mostly, due to the nature of this exercise.
It is common for trainers to incorporate training the core and legs while doing incline curls. This is achieved by instructing their clients to perform small crunches while performing the movements.
Incline Dumbbell Curl Benefit
What sets this apart from a regular dumbbell curl is the fact that you are lying down on an incline bench. This allows for a slightly different angle to target your muscle.
This unique angle will allow you to work not only the peak of your bicep, but also allow you to work out any flab along the sides of your biceps which may be hindering your progress.
How to do Incline Dumbbell Curls
Before you begin the incline dumbbell curl it’s important that you adjust your bench to an appropriate angle.
Most people find that a slight decline of 30 degrees with their arms is perfect for this exercise, however, some beginners may want to start off steeper and work their way down as they become more experienced.
Start off by grabbing two dumbbells which are resting on top of your thighs or situate them nearby, so they are easily accessible.
Once in position have your legs outstretched underneath you ready to push yourself up into the starting position.
It is worth mentioning now that since you are lying down there will be no need to “bounce” into the movement as if you were performing a standard dumbbell curl.
Adjust your arms so that they are fully extended and a hold the dumbbells tightly against the side of your thighs.
Curl both arms simultaneously until you have reached shoulder level, keeping your palms facing upwards towards the ceiling.
Slowly lower down into the starting position making sure to keep tension on the muscle at all times during this exercise.
Challenge yourself by trying to perform 12 reps with each arm before taking a short break and repeating again for 3-4 sets.
Tip: As with any exercise it is important that you maintain proper form at all times while performing this movement in order to get the most out of it.
Keep a natural arch in your back throughout while focusing on using your biceps to lift the weight and stopping any swinging from your legs as they attempt to assist you by lifting up.
Incline Dumbbell Curl Variations
There are two possible variations that you can try to achieve even better results.
The first is to perform the exercise with one arm at a time. This will prevent your dominant arm from taking over the entire workout and allow you to place more focus on each individual arm.
Another variant which some people choose to employ is to ensure that their grip remains exactly the same during both curls, rather than switching up after every set.
This variant is especially important if your biceps are relatively weak compared to your forearms as you may be tempted to “cheat” by changing the angle of your wrists in order for them not to give out before your biceps.
Incline Dumbbell Curl Alternative
If you have a gym membership with a decent amount of weight then the best alternative to incline dumbbell curls is going to be either a Hammer curl or even better, an Incline neutral grip curl.
Although these are slightly different, they all share the same main idea and with some practice will yield great results for your entire bicep muscles.
How do incline dumbbell curls stack up against other curl exercises?
In comparison to the regular dumbbell curl, which you perform with your arms fully extended and elbows fully locked out (which is the standard position), the incline variant allows for a different angle on that classic bicep isolation exercise.
This slight change in mechanics means that the muscles involved will be completely different as well as receiving a decent amount of stimulus from working out tired muscle fibers.
So, what does this mean for you? Ultimately it means an increase in growth and definition of your upper arm muscles!